An appeals court's recent ruling has given Huntington Beach the ability to build a $22-million senior center in Huntington Central Park, City Atty. Jennifer McGrath said. The court on Monday upheld an Orange County Superior Court judge's ruling that the city violated its general plan and a state environmental law by not adequately looking at alternative locations in its environmental impact report for the planned senior center. However, it overturned the judge's ruling that the city could not use funds from the stalled Pacific City project to build the center.

Diversifying the business base, preparing for a possible rise in sea levels and shoring up the Huntington Beach Police Department to pre-recession levels are just a few concerns facing the city as it prepares to update its 18-year-old general plan. City officials hosted a kick-off party on the beach March 19 to garner public interest and opinion and let residents know they are an integral part of updating the city's future road map. "There's been a lot of changes since 1996, so we have to update it," senior city planner Jennifer Villasenor said of the document.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Planning Commission unanimously approved a request to rezone three parcels of land to conform with the city's current overall general plan. WHAT IT MEANS: California state law requires that each city prepare and adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for its future development. In 1996, the city made some changes to its general plan. Since the plan was changed, zoning designations for First Christian Church, 1207 Main St.; the Huntington Beach City School District, 770 17th St.; the AES Generating Station, 21730 Newland St. and the Edison storage tanks at the northwest corner of Magnolia Street and Banning Avenue had to be modified to fit the plan.

Should Newport Beach remain a residential and beach community with a high quality of life or become a high-density, congested city like Santa Monica? The latest proposed update to the city's general plan calls for extensive developments and density increases that will turn us into another Santa Monica. The current plan will create more than 20 unsatisfactory intersections in the city. Your trips to the supermarket or to visit friends in the city will become increasingly inconvenient.

Tariq Malik HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Property owners and residents in three neighborhoods can rest easy knowing that businesses should stay out of their communities. The city's Planning Commission unanimously denied a series of zoning changes last week that would designate several residential areas for commercial land use. The decision affects 90 properties between Aldrich and Alhambra avenues, east of Beach Boulevard; 20 residential structures between Warner Avenue and Blaylock Drive, and A and B streets; and 10 dwellings along Moonshadow Circle.

The Greenlight committee, a residents group that successfully passed a landmark growth control measure in Newport Beach in 2000, wants voters to have an even bigger say in the city's future development. The group on Friday announced it will circulate petitions for a new ballot initiative it has dubbed Greenlight II. The measure would apply the first Greenlight initiative's voter controls over development to the city's existing general plan. That means if the initiative passes, a public vote would be required on any proposal that exceeds existing development in Newport Beach by more than 100 dwelling units, 100 peak hour car trips or 40,000 square feet of building space.

The charade that Newport's Greenlight movement is anything other than anti-growth was neatly shattered a week ago with the announcement of the start of the "Greenlight II" campaign. If voters approve this latest proposal from the residents group formed before the 2000 elections, it will stifle nearly all development in the city -- the good, the bad and the dense. Greenlight's latest foray into Newport politics takes the form of an extension of its original development guidelines, which mandate voter approval of any developments that greatly exceed what is allowed in the city's general plan -- its blueprint for growth and development.

Angel Flores The year was 1958. Fountain Valley elected its first mayor and made history with 31-year-old Jim Kanno, the first Japanese American mayor in the United States. But before he became a founding father of Fountain Valley and an inspiration to minorities, Kanno had to overcome his share of struggles. Born in Santa Ana of Japanese immigrants, he grew up on his family's asparagus farm. But in 1943, the Kannos were forced to evacuate to a Japanese internment camp in Arizona.

Other than the Banning Ranch property, there aren't many areas around Newport Beach with nearly 500 acres of largely undeveloped land. Some environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, have urged that the land be reserved as open space and have even talked about buying it. Under the city of Newport Beach's existing general plan, about 2,700 units of housing and 235,000 square feet of office space, plus ...

New housing near John Wayne Airport and Newport Center, another anchor store at Fashion Island, and public open space including a park with athletic fields at Banning Ranch all made the final cut Tuesday, when the Newport Beach City Council decided which future land-use options to study in detail. Those suggestions may become part of the city's general plan, which will outline how the city could be developed through 2025. Officials have been working since 2002 to update the general plan.

Concerns about density, infrastructure for bicyclists and the planned desalination plant were among the topics posed by residents at the Community Vision meeting held March 27 at the Huntington Beach Central Library. About 30 residents participated in live polling regarding what they like about the city and what they would change over the next 15 to 20 years. Another group was polled March 22. "This forms the basis of the vision, which is the real foundation of the general plan," said Jeff Henderson, managing director of the planning consultant firm PMC. Henderson said that the ideas brought up at both meetings will be compiled into one document and posted online, where the public can comment further.

Diversifying the business base, preparing for a possible rise in sea levels and shoring up the Huntington Beach Police Department to pre-recession levels are just a few concerns facing the city as it prepares to update its 18-year-old general plan. City officials hosted a kick-off party on the beach March 19 to garner public interest and opinion and let residents know they are an integral part of updating the city's future road map. "There's been a lot of changes since 1996, so we have to update it," senior city planner Jennifer Villasenor said of the document.

The changing of the guard included some familiar faces along with one new member at Monday's Huntington Beach City Council meeting. Mayor Don Hansen, Mayor Pro Tem Devin Dwyer and Councilman Keith Bohr saw their terms come to an end. Dwyer lost his reelection bid, placing fifth in the race of 12 with the top-three vote getters - Jill Hardy, Jim Katapodis and Dave Sullivan - earning a seat on the council. Connie Boardman and Matthew Harper were unanimously voted in as the new mayor and mayor pro tem, respectively, of Huntington Beach.

The Huntington Beach City Council voted Monday to establish new development impact fees and adjust existing ones, a move that a local business leader said could lead developers to shy away from building in the city. The new fees are expected to generate $154.8 million if the entire city is built out, including a $20-million increase from the current impact fees, according to a city staff report. Impact fees are paid by developers to allow cities to offset additional public service costs stemming from new developments.

The Huntington Beach City Council voted Monday to hire a firm to prepare an environmental report for a proposed skate park by Vans. The city is paying $222,900 for the report. The money, however, is being reimbursed upfront by Vans, which has proposed to build, maintain and run what it calls a world-class skate park. The city is paying PCR Services Corp., which is conducting the report, directly for the job to have oversight of the report and speed the process, said Scott Hess, director of planning and building.

An appeals court's recent ruling has given Huntington Beach the ability to build a $22-million senior center in Huntington Central Park, City Atty. Jennifer McGrath said. The court on Monday upheld an Orange County Superior Court judge's ruling that the city violated its general plan and a state environmental law by not adequately looking at alternative locations in its environmental impact report for the planned senior center. However, it overturned the judge's ruling that the city could not use funds from the stalled Pacific City project to build the center.

The Huntington Beach City Council on Monday night approved amendments to its maps, general plan and zoning to include Sunset Beach, and added provisions to prohibit marijuana dispensaries and to require short-term vacation rentals to complete the permitting process. The council unanimously adopted changes to the general plan, local coastal plan, zoning text and zoning map. Mayor Pro Tem Jill Hardy and Councilmen Joe Carchio and Gil Coerper were absent. The 134-acre unincorporated area of about 1,300 residents was placed under Huntington's sphere of influence last year by the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees the process of municipal boundary changes.

The Planning Commission approved a proposal to allow 22 homes to be built near the Bolsa Chica Wetlands for the city’s first “green” residential project. The commission approved the plan 4 to 3 with Chairman Blair Farley and Commissioners Elizabeth Shier Burnett and Tom Livengood voting no. The commission also adopted the mitigated negative declaration, 5 to 2, with Farley and Shier Burnett voting against it. The general plan, zoning map, zoning text and local coastal program amendment will go before the City Council for approval.

An Orange County Superior Court judge ordered a halt Tuesday to the construction of a new senior center to be built in Huntington Central Park after it ruled the city violated its general plan, city charter and the California Environmental Quality Act. A group of residents called the Parks Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the city challenging a 45,000-square-foot senior center, which would use a 5-acre section of the park between the...

It is unfortunate that Howard Zelefsky was forced to resign this summer under the guise that he is responsible for the slow planning process in the city of Huntington Beach. The city's planning department staff are simply trying to do their job, which is to interpret the convoluted and gray areas of the city's zoning ordinance. It is the City Council politicizing the planning process that slows down the building permit process, not the planning department. The City Council votes on a general plan and a zoning ordinance, but then, when a legitimate, conforming project is proposed that may offend the sensibilities of a vocal minority, suddenly the recommendations of planning are tossed aside for a long and arduous political process that usually involves public hearings and elected officials worried about votes.